TODAY'S FAMILY & KIDS ACTIVITIES IN BRONX-FEB 4

There's so many fun and educational activities for kids and the whole family everyday in the Bronx. If you're looking for music, museums, arts & crafts-or even just time spent outdoors-you'll find it here! Browse our daily activities, or if you'd like to plan ahead, check out the NY Metro Parents' calendar!.

In 1992, St. Lawrence String Quartet premiered Golijov's Yiddishbbuk, the start of an artistic relationship that continues to this day. For this event, which closely examines Golijov's aesthetic, the group performs the New York premiere of a new work, Qohelet, as well as the celebrated chamber piece Ayre, which originally premiered at Zankel Hall in 2004.

SIBSHOPS provides a therapeutic support group for siblings (K-5th grades) who have brothers or sisters with special needs. It gives them the unique opportunity to find peer support in a confidential, activity-based group, and to learn they are not alone. Call 914-366-7898 for group day/time and more information.

Director Michael Mayer has placed his new production of Verdi's towering tragedy in Las Vegas in 1960 -- an ideal setting for this eternal conflict of depravity and innocence. Piotr Beczala is the womanizing Duke, Zeljko Lucic is his tragic sidekick, Rigoletto, and Diana Damrau sings Rigoletto's daughter, Gilda. Michele Mariotti conducts.

Looking for special open mic in downtown Manhattan? This is it.
Come to one of the hottest open mics in the country - a stage graced by Grammy nominated singers, HBO Def Poetry stars, American Idol finalists, Golden Globe Award-winning actresses, and poets from The Best American Poetry anthology.
The Inspired Word's NYC Open Mic Joint, hosted by the legendary Nathan P., is a weekly series open to all types of artists - comedians, musicians, storytellers, singers, poets, fiction/nonfiction writers, playwrights, spoken word artists, performance artists, dancers, ANYTHING and EVERYTHING.
And once you experience it for a single night, you?ll see the vibe is totally addictive.
25 slots, 5-minute time limit.
*****
When: EVERY Monday!
Where: One and One Bar/Restaurant
Downstairs Nexus Lounge
76 East 1st Street (corner of 1st Avenue)
Manhattan, New York
(917) 703-1512
By subway, take the F train to Second Avenue and exit the 1st Avenue side.
Doors open for open mic sign-up @ 6:30pm
Show starts @ 7:30pm
Cover charge: $10
NO AGE LIMIT!
*****
For more Inspired Word info, please check out http://inspiredwordnyc.com/.

Broadway's Edward Hibbert premieres his debut cabaret show on the stage of 54 Below for three special Monday nights only! Known to many as Gil Chesterton, the restaurant critic, on TV's Frasier, Broadway and off-Broadway audiences have delighted in his varied performances in The Drowsy Chaperone, Curtains, Jeffrey, and the upcoming It Shoulda Been You. In Can't Something Be Done?, Edward presents an evening of irreverent stories and songs by Cole Porter, Noel Coward, and also contemporary songwriters. Enjoy stories of Edward's travels from England to the Great White Way…and beyond. Featuring Musical Direction by Sam Davis and Direction by Mark Waldrop.

David Finckel and Wu Han, Artistic Directors of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, together with CMS artists, celebrate the announcement of their 2013-14 season with a concert highlighting repertoire from the upcoming season.
Presented in collaboration with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

A free event open to anyone interested in or involved with the adoption process, including professionals, community members, expectant parents, adoptive or prospective adoptive parents, and adoptees. Learn about the domestic and international adoption process, and meet the staff of Forever Families Through Adoption (FFTA). FFTA is authorized in CT and NY. No registration necessary. For information, contact Anna at 914-939-1180, or email adopt@foreverfamiliesthroughadoption.org.

Walkers up to 36 months and their caregiver are invited for stories, fingerplays, songs, and bubbles. Pre-registration for this popular program is required. Mondays through May 13 other than February 18 and May 27.

At this open lab, individuals affected by Hurricane Sandy can use the computers and printers to apply for and check the status of FEMA and disaster unemployment assistance, and file insurance claims. Staff will be on site to assist those who do not have strong computer skills.

Is your 12-16 year old tired of eating the same old things for lunches? Invite them to learn how to prepare some great lunch options that they make for themselves or others in their family. Young chefs will work on a menu including chicken, lettuce, avocado, sprouts, and carrots as well as vegetarian sushi wraps with rice, avocado, cucumbers, carrots, sprouts, homemade dressings and spreads. Pre-registration is required.

Jill will help young artists design winter or holiday-themed crafts. Kids can pick make something special for Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, or Passover. Selection includes jewelry boxes, candy dishes, mugs, plates, and more. Pieces can be taken home that day or left for glazing. Fee includes instruction. Seder dishes are available for an additional fee. Pre-registration is requested. Workshops will be held each Monday and Tuesday throughout the month.

An hour of nature fun for children ages 2-5 years and parents/caregivers. Meet a museum animal, hear a story, do a craft, or play a nature game. Except in extreme weather conditions, a portion of each class is spent outdoors. Admittance closes 15 minutes after the start of the program. No pre-registration or pre-payment required.

Rockland Parent and the Palisades Center team up to offer special activities for parents and their pre-schoolers. Each event will offer a kid oriented activity as well as coupons for mall promotions. Pre-registration is required.

Move and groove to some fun and upbeat music in this Zumba class run by Karen for children ages 3-12 and their parents. No registration necessary but the program is limited to the first 80 people who arrive. Be sure to bring water.

Teens in grades 6-12 are invited to join this group who work with the library by helping select materials for the teen collection, planning teen events, and more. Applications are available online for first time attendees or by emailing Marissa Antosh, Youth Services Assistant, at mantosh@wiltonlibrary.org. Newcomers always welcome. Registration is recommended.

COPE, a grief and healing organization dedicated to supporting parents and families living with the loss of a child, holds monthly support groups meetings for parents one Monday of the month for parents on the South Shore. If you are interested in attending or for more information, please call Executive Director Karen Flyer at 516-484-4993.

COPE, a grief and healing organization dedicated to supporting parents and families living with the loss of a child, holds support group meetings for parents two Mondays per month. Please call for more information.

Doro Pesch has always been a natural fighter. One who stays true to herself with heart and soul. She is an icon and a decisive power in the Heavy Metal scene. One who doesn't give up when life becomes hard and who doesn't shy away from long and difficult paths.
Doro found the band Warlock, gains a record deal for them and can lead the life that she used to love in her childhood so much: The life on the road. Travelling around the world.Soon she plays shows with bands such as Ozzy Osbourne, Bon Jovi or Judas Priest and turns to an idol for the whole music scene. Doro turns, as the first female bandleader of the whole genre, to an example for many others to follow. Especially for many other women. Until now Doro has that role. Warlock has turned into a legend and a true cult band. Due to songs as "For Immer", "True as Steel", All We Are" or "I Rule The Ruins" their name has become immortal and is still alive.

Join in discussing Heft: A Novel by Liz Moore. Arthur weighs 550 pounds and hasn't left his rambling Brooklyn home in a decade. Kel navigates life as a poor kid in a rich school, and pins his hopes on what seems like a promising baseball career. An unexpected connection transforms both their lives as they find sustenance and friendship in the most surprising places.

THIS SHOW IS NOW SOLD OUT.
This multicultural version of Cinderella features interwoven tales from China, India, and Africa. In one of the stories there is a magic fish instead of a fairy godmother and in another Cinderella is a boy. You'll also meet a flying cow, an enchanted frog, a talking parrot, and a wise wizard. Following each performance there will be a Q&A with the cast members. Reservations required.

Mix and mingle at the Autism Speaks to Young Professionals Winter Gala at New York City hot spot Ph-D at the Dream Hotel Downtown on Monday, Feb. 4. Hosted by Autism Speaks, this evening of networking, hors d'oeuvres and beats from DJ Caleb Loftus aims to raise awareness and funds to benefit the autism community.

Interested in learning dance? Trial classes available from Feb 3 through Feb 9 in Ballet, Tap, and Sportsdance for Boys. As well as Broadway and Imagine Dance. Call for reservations 718-781-1169. Full class schedule available on website.

From "broccoli" to "triskaidekaphobia," come test out your spelling in a bar backroom filled with smart people and beer. Free, open to all (21+). Signup begins at 7pm -- first 18 people get to play. Three-strikes-you're-out policy means more participation for everyone. Hosted by founder bobbyblue and comedian Jen Dziura. Winners get nerdy prizes and qualify for the annual Finals.

Presented in collaboration with Pioneers of Television, the four-part PBS series which premiered on WNET/Thirteen January 15, 2013. The miniseries episode on Roots airs on February 5 at 8:00 p.m.
The miniseries Roots, which aired in 1977, was one of the most influential and highest rated television events of all time; the final episode had an audience of more than 100 million. Thirty-five years later, Roots still resonates within popular culture, having changed forever the way that African-Americans were depicted on television, and having a strong impact on the nation's collective guilt about slavery, an issue that is strongly present in popular culture today, with the heated discussion around the films Lincoln and Django Unchained. Four of the stars of the series, Ben Vereen, Lou Gossett, Jr., LeVar Burton, and Leslie Uggams, will participate in a discussion about the show's production and its long-lasting legacy. The moderator is Donald Thoms, Vice President of Programming, PBS. This program is being presented in collaboration with the PBS series Pioneers of Television and excerpts from Roots, will be shown. The miniseries episode airs on February 5 on PBS.

This Valentine's Day, GODIVA is encouraging chocolate lovers to “Share the Love” of chocolate with their friends, for the chance to win a 19-piece Gold Ballotin – and up to 500 more to share with their Facebook friends. To celebrate the sweepstakes, the GODIVA boutique at Rockefeller Center in New York City, will debut an interactive and indulgent pop-up photo kissing booth, created entirely out of decadent GODIVA chocolate. Fans are encouraged to visit the boutique Wednesday, January 30 – Monday, February 4 for the opportunity to pose for photos and share them with their friends and family via social media. Participants can also upload their photos on GODIVA's Facebook to enter to win the 2013 “Share the Love” Sweepstakes. Entrants who visit the boutique and “Share the Love,” will receive 25% off one GODIVA item or 25% off an $80 purchase on GODIVA.com. 10 lucky winners of the Share the Love” Sweepstakes will each receive a 19-piece Gold Ballotin – and up to 500 more to share with their Facebook friends. Fans can enjoy chocolate for themselves, then go ahead and share the love with family and friends. If consumers are unable to visit the in-boutique photo booth, fans can also enter the “Share the Love” sweepstakes online at http://www.godiva.com/Valentines-Day/share-the-love-sweepstakes,default,pg.html. The submission deadline is February 14, 2013.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's annual Family Benefit, now it its 21st year, is a fun and lively evening for parents and children to explore the Museum together after hours. The event will feature gallery visits, interactive art projects and activities, dinner, and live music provided by Brooklyn-based education rock band The Deedle Deedle Dees. Guests are invited to dress as their favorite heroes or heroines. Programs and activities offered throughout the evening include stations for guests to design their own heroic accessories; a trading card game featuring heroes and heroines from the Museum’s galleries; the chance to invent a hero; a special armor demonstration by the Museum’s Arms & Armor Department; and more. Tickets are required.

Award-winning vocalist, director and Broadway actor (The Frogs, Sweet Smell of Success, Kiss Me, Kate) Eric Michael Gillett uses the wit and wisdom of Lorenz Hart to remind us all that, though love can be experienced with abandon, to be careless with the heart can also have a price. George Balanchine called Lorenz Hart the "Shelley of America," his lyrics rank with the greatest romantic poetry of all time. Though he, himself, was unlucky in love, his writing casts a spell that will always survive the test of time, inspiring generations of lovers to come to follow their hearts.

If you're looking for something to brighten up the winter days and start your year on a positive note, Agora Gallery's January exhibitions are for you. The Substance of Abstraction gifts its audience with an inspiring new perspective, bringing out the mystery and attraction of the aspects of life and the world that are so often overlooked. With a beguiling charm, these artworks gently persuade you to embrace what you see - and to see the best of what is there. Joyful, lively and possessed of an appealing sense of fun, the works in Portals of Perception engage fully in both personal and shared experience, reflecting everything that is most intriguing and exciting. A perfectly poised impression of harmony pervades throughout, combining diverse themes and forms to make a wonderful, balanced whole. The exhibitions will open on January 16, 2013 and run until February 5, 2013. The opening reception will take place on the evening of Thursday, January 17, 2013. Entrance is free and all art enthusiasts are warmly welcomed to attend and add art to the start of their new year.
Exhibition Dates: January 16, 2013 – February 5, 2013
Reception: Thursday, January 17, 2013, 6-8 pm
Gallery Location: 530 West 25th St, New York City
Gallery Hours: Tues – Sat, 11a.m. - 6 p.m.
Event URL: http://www.agora-gallery.com/receptionexhibitions/1_17_2013.aspx

An open juried art exhibit for distinguished and creative expression depicting faces and figures at the Stamford Art Association. This year's juror is local artist and teacher, Eddie Nino. January 13 - February 7, 2013.

A total body fitness class for kids ages 10-14 who are on the autism spectrum. Kids will learn how to exercise in a safe and fun way. The Ultimate Fitness program encourages a supportive atmosphere through a variety of exercises designed to increase physical fitness and promote teamwork. Activities include obstacle courses, exercise circuits, relay races, and lots of fun, team-related games.
This class is part of the 14th Street Y's Kol Program, which hosts several weekend classes for kids with special needs. The program is geared for children on the high-functioning end of the autistic spectrum and children with communication and language delays.
For more information or to receive an application, contact Amanda Kayam at Amanda_Kayam@14StreetY.org or 646-395-4339.

During NYC's celebration of its great restaurants, Elevate -- featuring New American cuisine with a Japanese twist in the Wyndham Garden Chinatown -- will offer a 3-course prix-fixe Brunch menu ($18) and 3-course prix-fixe dinner menu ($38).

Amanda McBroom makes her Cafe Carlyle debut engagement, "A Valentine Rose." She will be joined by distinguished pianist/composer, Michele Brourman, as her music director, and the talented Dan Fabricant on bass. "A Valentine Rose" features an evening of songs to celebrate that endangered species: adult romance! From the great standards of Cole Porter and Sammy Cahn, to the passion of Jacques Brel, to Ms. McBroom's own unique view of the dark and bright sides of love, including her own standard, "The Rose." With "The Rose" as the perfect centerpiece, Ms. McBroom sings a bouquet of standards that sets the mood for an evening of romance in all its forms.

Featuring a selection of thirty drawings, the exhibition represents many of the important themes found within the extraordinary album of James Edward Deeds, Jr. (1908-1987), a near life-long ward of the state of Missouri and colorful mental patient at Nevada, Missouri's State Hospital, No. 3.

These twelve large scale, color photographs follow a continuum that originated with Beck's "Botanical Gardens" series from the late 1990s and his "Waterfalls" from 2005-7 into the "Italian Garden" series which began in 2008.

Grand Central Terminal turns 100 in 2013 and we're starting the party early with our eleventh annual Holiday Train Show! In a brand new layout built by Lionel, model Metro-North and New York Central trains depart from a miniature Grand Central on their way North on a 34' long, two-level "O" gauge layout. Vintage model trains from the Museum's collection will also be on display joined by stunning New York Central railroad posters harkening back to Grand Central's heyday as the nexus of long distance and commuter train travel. Salute the Centennial with your very own Lionel Grand Central Express Passenger Set, unveiled and on sale at the Museum Store.

The New York Transit Museum presents its Holiday Train Show at its store in Grand Central, with a brand new layout wherein model Metro-North and New York Central trains depart from a miniature Grand Central on their way North on a 34' long, two-level "O" gauge layout.
Vintage model trains from the museum's collection will also be on display joined by stunning New York Central railroad posters harkening back to Grand Central's heyday as the nexus of long distance and commuter train travel.

Marking its 30th year, the Young Artists exhibition showcases the extraordinary talents of 300 seniors from the Museum's member high schools in Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Dutchess, and Fairfield counties. Concurrently on view are the exhibitions "Young Artists and Writers: Thinking Through Art," based on a program that uses the KMA's exhibitions to engage students' observation, critical thinking, writing, and artistic skills through encounters with original art, and "Make Your Mark," a show of younger students' work in the Learning Center. Together, the three exhibitions and their related programs have become an annual event in which community and family come together to celebrate children's art. February 3 through February 10, 2013.

Jackson's multimedia installation evokes a private library or reading room, where viewers are invited to contemplate themes of race and power embedded in American history and culture. A minimalist white cube chair is situated at the center of a carpet, both constructed by the artist from black-and-white dominoes. Jackson's Blackboard Paintings -- large-scale geometric abstractions rendered in graphite and blackboard paint -- cover the surrounding walls. These works present abstracted aerial views of specific American prisons. Jackson juxtaposes his abstract works with Malvina Hoffman's early modern sculptural portrait, Senegalese Soldier. Drawn from the Museum's permanent collection, Hoffman's larger-than-life-sized bust stands at the center of the installation. In Rumination, Jackson brings together historical and contemporary cultural representations to explore the inter-related histories of incarceration, surveillance, and control.

From Farm to City: Staten Island, 1661-2012 highlights the history of changing land use on the island that has been an important part of the life of New York and its harbor for over 350 years. The exhibition illuminates Staten Island's varied history as home to farms and fishing ports, small towns and suburbs, resorts and estates, industry and business, parks and wetlands, and dynamic and diverse downtowns that continue to reinvent themselves. New panoramic color photographs by Jeff Chien-Hsing Liao capture the varied and often striking vistas of Staten Island today.

Inspired by WAC's upcoming exhibition, "William Wegman: The Traveler," WAC seeks toy designs conceived by children ages 5-12 for a juried contest. Submit up to three concepts, be it a manipulative toy, action figures, game, or animated robots. A maximum level of creativity, playfulness, fantasy, humor, and imagination are strongly encouraged. Entries due February 11.

A group of 104 sculptures on long-term loan to the Rubin Museum of Art will be exhibited together for the first time in the United States. A selection of the works was previously exhibited at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, in the United Kingdom, in 1999. The collection is known as the Nyingjei Lam Collection, which means "path of compassion."

Canstruction is an annual design competition and the most unique food charity in the world. This February, Canstruction celebrates its 20th anniversary of competition in New York City, which was postponed from November 2012 due to Hurricane Sandy.
Twenty-five teams of architects, engineers, contractors, and the students they mentor will compete to build enormous structures made entirely out of unopened cans of food, which are then on view to the public until they are dismantled and donated to City Harvest for distribution to those in need.
Admission is free, but visitors are asked to bring a can of high quality food to the exhibition's collection station to reach the goal of collecting over 50,000 pounds of non-perishable edibles.

Able Fine Art NY Gallery is pleased to present the work by Su-Jin Lim, a young Korean artist currently residing in New York City. As a Pop artist of a new generation of Asian painters, Su-Jin Lim approaches art as a mode of self expression through acrylic painting and mixed media printed on canvas. The subjects of her paintings revolve around young girls and whimsical animals with exaggerated eyes and features. Her paintings are characteristic in their vibrant and bright color scheme and embellishments of clothing and bowties. However her pieces depict multiple layers of emotion with the addition of flames and tears to the faces and heads of her forms.
Her focus is to convey emotion through more simplified peoples and beings that are reminiscent of Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara. Su-Jin’s paintings are drawn with simple features such as two dots for the nostrils and a curved line for the mouth. Her emphasis is on feeling and a certain sensitivity and sophistication. Her art is childlike by creating a world rejecting adult life and addressing a discomfort in the older, however it is not naive. The tears or flames dominate the emotion of her imagery, in her words “People are not computers. They have emotions and need emotional recognition.” Her work creates a world of childlike innocence that drives the audience to an emotional response. Her images reflect the hardships of life through colorful details and depictions of simple vulnerabilities.

Want the convenience of a modern gym at a fraction of the price? Check out RetroFitness where the goal is health and fitness and the price is $19.99 per month for life. Classes are starting up now. Childcare is available. The Grand Openinruns through February 13, 2013.

In celebration of the 75th anniversary of Dr. Seuss's second book, The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, Dr. Seuss's never-before-seen hat collection will be exhibited. Following the unveiling, this exhibition will travel the country along with Dr. Seuss's little-known Secret Art Collection, a series of Estate authorized works adapted from Ted Geisel's original drawings, paintings, and sculpture. Hats Off to Dr. Seuss! is a rare and exciting exhibition as this is the first time any of these hats have traveled outside the Seuss Estate.

Driscoll Babcock Galleries is pleased to present, Suspended Forms: American Modernism 1908-1928. The exhibition will include works by:
Joseph Stella;
Charles Sheeler;
Walt Kuhn;
Alfred Maurer;
E. Ambrose Webster;
Marsden Hartley;
Niles Spencer;
Charles Burchfield;
Stuart Davis;
Edwin Dickinson.
Driscoll Babcock Galleries is the oldest gallery in New York City and has aided in the acquisition of important American masterpieces for many of the country’s top institutions and collections.

This rarely-seen selection of Spero's collaged narratives show women transformed from historical contexts of suffering and subordination into protagonists in charge their own destinies. From Victimage to Liberation is the first solo presentation of Spero's work in New York since her death in 2009.

An exhibition of paintings, drawings, sculpture, and a new stained-glass installation by Brian Clarke, an artist who has pioneered new possibilities for the medium of glass and has collaborated on major installations with Zaha Hadid, Norman Foster, Renzo Piano, and other leading architects worldwide.

A two-venue exhibition of the acclaimed Chinese conceptual artist Song Dong, known for his works that combine aspects of performance, video, photography, painting, installation, and sculpture. The gallery at 510 West 25th Street will center on a new installation by the artist that expands on his project for Documenta 13.

Steven Kasher Gallery's fifth show of works from the National Geographic archives, but the first that presents vintage illustrations side by side with vintage photographs. The one hundred works presented span the entire 20th century. Photographers include Herbert Ponting, Baron von Gloeden, Maynard Owen Williams, and Hiram Bingham. Illustrators include Thornton Oakley, Louis Agassi Fuertes, and Tom Lovell. The exhibition will encompass works that represent National Geographi's rich history in the fields of geography, archaeology, exploration, science, wildlife and world cultures.

An exhibition of new photographs. In this new body of work, Hilliard continues to deconstruct issues surrounding familial relationships, and the struggle to secure a sense of self and place in a chaotic world.

Loboda's first show at the gallery. Based on myriad associations with the overall idea, history, and architectural manifestation of electricity, the exhibition features sculpture, installation and collage.

Glasgow-based artist David Shrigley surrounds a large black gong sculpture positioned in the center of the gallery with a variety of signs, such as flags, scrolls and banners, neon and cast bronze texts, as well as lino-cut and letterset texts and poems.

Featuring paintings and works on paper by ten artists: William Bailey, David Bates, Jake Berthot, Charles Garabedian, Judy Glantzman, John Lees, Stanley Lewis, Gordon Moore, David Reed, and John Walker.

This exhibition is devoted to examining the defining impact Lucy R. Lippard's groundbreaking book Six Years had on the emergent Conceptual art movement. Published in 1973, Six Years simultaneously catalogued and described the development of conceptual art practices in the late sixties and early seventies, and is now widely considered an essential reference work for the period. Using the book's content to structure the exhibition, Materializing "Six Years" showcases the artists brought together and championed by Lippard, and demonstrates how her curatorial projects, critical writing, and political engagement helped to redefine exhibition-making, art criticism, and the viewing experience.
The exhibition will feature more than 170 objects by nearly ninety artists who were working internationally across a range of mediums. In addition to presenting important artworks, the exhibition will convey the political foment of an era that saw both the emergence of Conceptual art and the rise of the Women's Rights, Civil Rights, and anti?Vietnam War movements, and will illustrate the period's experimental impulses through catalogues, artist publications, periodicals, photographs, and ephemera from key exhibitions and events.

Women's Project presents the
World Premiere of
BETHANY
By Laura Marks
Directed by Gaye Taylor Upchurch
Sets by Lauren Helpern
Costumes by Sarah Holden
Lights by Mark Barton
Sound by Leon Rothenberg
BETHANY is a darkly comic exploration of the limits of morality in desperate times. Set in an American exurb wiped out by foreclosures, the play follows Crystal, a financially-strapped woman who discovers just how far she’ll go to regain what she’s lost.
January 11 - February 17, 2013
Tuesdays-Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.
Saturdays & Sundays at 2:30 p.m.
Exception: No matinee on Saturday, January 12 at 2:30 p.m.
City Center Stage II
131 West 55th Street, NYC
WP Member Tickets ($20+): Click here or call 212.765.1706.
Single Tickets ($60+): Click here or call 212.581.1212.

Exploring the extraordinary dialogue between Islamic tradition and Western modernity that shaped the fabled Honolulu residence of the philanthropist Doris Duke, Doris Duke's Shangri La: Architecture, Landscape, and Islamic Art features large-scale newly commissioned photos of the five-acre property by Tim Street-Porter and archival materials on the travel and research that led to the creation of Duke's home and the growth of her collection over 60 years, in addition to a selection of works from her collection, never before seen outside her home--ceramics, furniture, textiles, and jewelry inlaid with precious gems from Spain, North Africa, Central and South Asia, and the Middle East, including objects dating from the early first millennium B.C.E.--along with new works by six contemporary artists of Islamic heritage who participated in Shangri La's Contemporary Artists Residency program. These Shangri La- inspired works include calligraphic pieces by Mohamed Zakariya that evoke the physical landscape surrounding the home; vivid, large-scale projections that capture the home's confluence of American and Muslim cultures by Shahzia Sikander; and lantern-like metal sculptures of rockets and missiles that speak of both opulence and violence by Afruz Amighi, among others.

George Bellows (1882-1925) was regarded as one of America's greatest artists when he died, at the age of forty-two, from a ruptured appendix. Bellows's early fame rested on his powerful depictions of boxing matches and gritty scenes of New York City's tenement life, but he also painted cityscapes, seascapes, war scenes, and portraits, and made illustrations and lithographs that addressed many of the social, political, and cultural issues of the day. Featuring some one hundred works from Bellows's extensive oeuvre, this landmark loan exhibition is the first comprehensive survey of the artist's career in nearly half a century. It invites the viewer to experience the dynamic and challenging decades of the early twentieth century through the eyes of a brilliant observer.

John Rogers: American Stories is the first full retrospective of the most popular American sculptor John Rogers (1829-1904). An astute and tireless maker and marketer of artworks from the beginning of the Civil War to the end of the Gilded Age, Rogers sold more than 80,000 narrative figural groups in plaster, reaching the American public en masse and addressing the issues that most touched their lives. His arresting and memorable subjects included scenes from the front lines and the home front of the Civil War, insightful commentaries on domestic life, and dramatic episodes from the stage and literature.

The Landmarks of New York is an exhibition which explores the history of New York as revealed by its historical structures. The exhibition's ninety photographs of New York landmarks, including thirty newly donated by former New York City Landmarks Commissioner Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel, are critical documents that chronicle the city's past from the seventeenth through the twentieth centuries. As the city grew, single family houses were replaced by apartment buildings and then skyscrapers; agriculture replaced manufacturing, which was supplanted by commerce and the movement of goods and services. All of these structures tell the story of New York's journey from a small colonized village to a world class city.

After a national tour, the forty-five iconic works, including Thomas Cole's five-part series The Course of Empire and other masterworks by Cole, John F. Kensett, Albert Bierstadt, Jasper F. Cropsey, Asher B. Durand and others will once again be on display at the New-York Historical Society.

China's leading video and new media artist presents his latest work accompanied by a new series of ink and mixed media paintings and works on paper that further develop the concepts first glimpsed in 2010.

Off Broadway Family Theatre presents an adaptation of C.S. Lewis' beloved tale from his Chronicles of Narnia series. In this creative adaptation, two actors play eight characters, both human and animal. Travel to Narnia through the old wardrobe with the four Pevensie children, and get swept into their journey to stand with the great lion Aslan against the evil White Witch. She has placed the land of Narnia under enchantment and now it is always winter, but never Christmas. Audiences will be drawn into the theater's "magic circle," where children and animals, fauns and mythical creatures come to life in this enchanting tale.

A two-venue exhibition of the acclaimed Chinese conceptual artist Song Dong, known for his works that combine aspects of performance, video, photography, painting, installation, and sculpture. The gallery at 534 West 25th Street will present a survey Song's works, spanning from 1994 to the present.

An exhibition of paintings by Deborah Kass from her historic series, "My Elvis" created in the early 1990s. Gathered for the first time in the artist's career and presented to a new generation of viewers, the exhibition will showcase this historic series with the first and last self-portraits from her historic "Warhol Project": "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" (1994), "Camouflage self-portrait" (1994/1997), "Altered Image #2" and "Red Deb" (2000).

Featuring small and medium-sized oil paintings that were completed over the last two years. The works were all painted outdoors in the landscape. Many were painted in the Palisades Park, Wave Hill, Fort Tilden, landscape locations not far from urban New York, and farther afield locales in Maine and Provincetown.

The exhibition comprises fifteen paintings from her last two decades. It marks the third exhibition with the gallery. Many of them psychologically charged and muted images of solitary figures and figure groups.

A two-person exhibition of photographs from the 1930s-1950s. Among the great masters of European photography, Chim and Vishniac are famed for photojournalism and social documentary depicting tumultuous events of the 20th century, as well portraits of some of the most important celebrities of the time.

Exhibit and programs commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation and its significance over time, featuring Abraham Lincoln's signed copy, rare slavery artifacts, prints, political cartoons and more. Visitors who present a ticket stub from the film "Lincoln", will receive $2 off of an adult admission to the exhibition. Through February 24,2013.

Now there's even more reason for families to plan the weekend around a visit to Nassau County Museum of Art. Learn from a docent-led family walk-through of the exhibition and supervised art activities for the whole family beginning at 1:30pm. Special family guides of the main exhibition are available in the galleries. No reservations needed.

Artists in America surveys 300 years of great American painting rarely seen on Long Island. Its 79 works dating from the early 1700s to the present include history painting, landscape, portraits, still life, and modernist abstraction with significant examples of photography, collage, and other media. Major artists from every era of American art are on view, including John Singleton Copley, Charles Willson Peale, John Singer Sargent, James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Edward Hopper, Georgia O’Keeffe, Norman Rockwell, Robert Motherwell and Sol LeWitt. All works in the exhibition are selected from the permanent collections of the New Britain Museum of American Art in Connecticut. The exhibition runs through February 24, 2013.